Cargo compartment flooring in the cargo compartment of an aircraft is required to withstand certain minimum weight and drop test standards. Typically, cargo compartment flooring includes multiple floor panels which are attached to permanently installed transverse and longitudinal beams. For example, a floor panel which is 18 inches square and supported at two edges must be able to sustain, without failure, a minimum of 2,000 pounds applied over an area which is 1 inch in diameter in the center of the panel. The upper surface of the cargo compartment flooring must be adapted to support a load of 400 pounds which is applied by a ¾ inch diameter steel ball without failure or permanent indentation which is greater than 0.05 inch.
A floor panel must be sufficiently strong to withstand, without failure, impact from a sturdily-constructed pine box which is uniformly-loaded such that the box and its contents weigh 200 pounds and is dropped from a height of 13 inches above the panel (distance between the panel and the lowest corner of the box) such that one corner of the box strikes the center of the panel. A line between the center of gravity of the box and the contact point with the floor panel is vertical upon impact. The corner radius of the box cannot exceed ½ inch. The local deformation in the floor caused by the impact cannot exceed 0.3 inches. One of the limitations of the conventional box drop method for testing floor panels of aircraft cargo compartments, however, is that the method is time-consuming and expensive.